I was sitting in traffic on Lawrence Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood when I saw a little girl, probably about ten years old, trip on the sidewalk and tumble into a concrete barrier. It wasn't tall -- maybe two feet -- so it was obvious she wasn't badly hurt, but she might have skinned or sprained her hand trying to catch her balance.
My first thought, as a complete stranger passing by in a car, was along the lines of, "Oh, that poor baby." And the first impulse of the woman with her, who I assume was her mother? Although I couldn't hear the words, I could tell the mother was scolding and berating the little girl, not only by her facial expression, but because she grabbed the girl by the shoulders and started shaking her.
I know that kids can try your patience and that the job of parenting is very difficult at times. Still, I can't comprehend how a parent's first impulse when her child is hurt would be to punish the child rather than to comfort her. Imagine how that little girl felt. Isn't it embarrassing enough to take a tumble on a public sidewalk without being treated like that? I feel helpless in those situations too, because I feel awful for the child but don't feel like I can really do anything about it. It didn't seem like the mother was hurting the girl, just humiliating her -- which to me is just about as bad, but not a "crime."
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